草籽 (cǎo zǐ) — grass seed | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

grass seed

Measure word · 颗

Examples

，草籽。
Chūn tiān dào le, nóng mín zài tián lǐ sā cǎo zǐ.
Spring has arrived, and farmers are scattering grass seeds in the fields.
草籽。
Zhè xiē cǎo zǐ shì gěi xiǎo niǎo chī de.
These grass seeds are for the little birds to eat.
草籽，。
Tā mǎi le yí dài cǎo zǐ, zhǔn bèi zhǒng zài huā yuán lǐ.
He bought a bag of grass seeds and plans to plant them in the garden.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

草 says what kind of plant, and 籽 is the seed.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

艹早草

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

早

早zǎo草cǎo

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

草 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 早, which gives the sound. The form originally referred to another word and was later used for the grass sense.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

米子籽

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice; grain

Sound part声符shēngfú

子

子zǐ籽zǐ(r)

Same sound today

籽 combines 米 (rice; grain) with 子, which shows how it is pronounced.

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.